Due to a combination of heavy rain and melting snow, the National Weather Service declared a flood watch for the Lower Columbia River basin, including the Vancouver-Portland metro area, from Wednesday evening through Saturday afternoon.
Communities along the Interstate 5 corridor from Portland to Longview may be affected.
In Vancouver, the Columbia is expected to rise to 15.83 feet — .07 inches below the 16-foot minor flood stage — at around 2 p.m. Thursday. It’s then expected to peak at 15.98 feet at 1 p.m. Friday. That afternoon, the river should drop slightly, but it will remain above 15 feet through Monday afternoon.
“We’re keeping a very strong eye on it,” said David Bishop, a metrologist at the National Weather Service. “It’s there at just below the minor flood stage.”
In April 2012, the river fell just short of flood stage, hitting 15.83 feet, and in June 2011, the river was at around 17 feet. During the flood of February 1996, the river crested at 27 feet.
This week, low-lying properties and roads along the river may be flooded. Some parks, marinas and ports will likely face problems with abnormally high water and excess debris moving downstream.
“The impacts themselves overall should be very, very minor across the areas — unless you’re in a low-lying area,” Bishop said.
Flooding could also happen along some rivers in Northwest Oregon. The Tualatin, the Clackamas, the Pudding and the Luckiamute were also named in the watch, but any flooding is expected to be minor.
The weather service also said landslides and debris flows are possible during the floods. Buildings, roads and people at the base of steep slopes and in and around canyons could be at risk from landslides.
In Vancouver, daytime highs through the rest of the week are expected to be in the low 50s, with lows in the mid 30s and 40s. Rain is also expected on Friday and Saturday.
Sunday is expected to be partly cloudy.
The weather service is urging people to keep an eye on the forecast for any updates on river conditions.
